December 5 in recent years
2009 (Saturday)
2008 (Friday)
2007 (Wednesday)
2006 (Tuesday)
2005 (Monday)
2004 (Sunday)
2003 (Friday)
2002 (Thursday)
2001 (Wednesday)
2000 (Tuesday)
December 5 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 25 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ]
63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations .
663 - Fourth Council of Toledo .
771 - Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman .
1082 - Assassination of Ramon Berenguer II .
1360 - Creation of the French Franc .
1408 - Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow .
1484 - Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes , a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany and leads to one of the severest witchhunts in European history.
1492 - Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola .
1496 - King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree of expulsion of "heretics" from the country.
1590 - Niccolò Sfondrati becomes Pope Gregory XIV .
1715 - Alexander Dalzeel , a Scottish privateer in French service, is executed in London .
1746 - Revolt in Genoa against the Spanish rule.
1757 - Seven Years' War : Battle of Leuthen - Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine .
1766 - In London , James Christie holds his first sale.
1775 - At Fort Ticonderoga , Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge .
1776 - In the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg , students from the College of William and Mary met for the first time founding Phi Beta Kappa , the first scholastic fraternity in the United States .
1815 - Foundation of Maceió in Brazil .
1830 - The premiere of Hector Berlioz 's Symphonie Fantastique in Paris .
1831 - Former US President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives .
1847 - Jefferson Davis gets elected to the US senate, his first political occupation.
1848 - California Gold Rush : In a message before the U.S. Congress , US President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California .
1865 - Chincha Islands War : Peru allies with Chile against Spain .
1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada .
1893 - First appearance of an electric car .
1914 - The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country.
1920 - Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece .
1926 - Sergei Eisenstein 's Battleship Potemkin premieres.
1932 - German -born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa .
1933 - Prohibition ends: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution , thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to enact the amendment (this overturned the 18th Amendment which had outlawed alcohol in the United States).
1934 - Abyssinia Crisis : Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia , taking four days to capture the city.
1936 - The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR .
1941 - World War II : In Battle of Moscow Zhukov launched a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, with the biggest offensive launched against Army Group Centre.
1941 - World War II : Great Britain declares war to Finland , Hungary and Romania .
1943 - World War II : U.S. Air force begins Operation Crossbow attacking Germany 's secret weapons bases.
1944 - World War II : Allied troops occupy Ravenna .
1945 - Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda Triangle .
1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO .
1955 - E.D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott .
1957 - Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia .
1958 - Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh .
1958 - The Preston bypass, the UK 's first stretch of motorway opens to traffic for the first time, now part of the M6 and M55 motorways .
1964 - Vietnam War : For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
1969 - Life Magazine reports the My Lai Massacre .
1970 - Premiere of Dario Fo 's Morte accidentale di un anarchico .
1976 - United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan resolution on security of non-Nuclear States.
1977 - Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria , Libya , Algeria , Iraq and South Yemen . The move is in retaliation to the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.
1978 - The Soviet Union signs a 'friendship treaty' with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan .
1979 - Sonia Johnson is formally excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for her outspoken criticism of the church concerning the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States .
1983 - Dissolution of the Military Joint in Argentina .
1989 - TGV Atlantique sets a new railways speed record with 482.4 km/h.
1993 - The mayor of Wien Helmut Zilk is wounded by a letter bomb .
1995 - Sri Lanka government announces the conquest of Tamil stronghold of Jaffna .
2003 - Suicide bombers kill at least 46 people in an attack on a train in southern Russia.
2005 - The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
2005 - The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom , and the first civil partnership is registered there.
2006 - Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji
Births [ ]
1377 - Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402 )
1443 - Pope Julius II (d. 1513 )
1495 - Nicolas Cleynaerts , Flemish grammarian (d. 1542 )
1537 - Ashikaga Yoshiaki , Japanese shogun (d. 1597 )
1539 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini , Italian theologian (d. 1604 )
1547 - Ubbo Emmius , Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625 )
1595 - Henry Lawes , English composer (d. 1662 )
1661 - Robert Harley , English statesman (d. 1724 )
1687 - Francesco Geminiani , Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762 )
1782 - Martin Van Buren , 8th President of the United States (d. 1862 )
1803 - Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev , Russian poet (d. 1873 )
1820 - Afanasy Fet , Russian poet (d. 1892 )
1822 - Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz , American college president (d. 1907 )
1829 - Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière , French Canadian politician (d. 1908 )
1830 - Christina Rossetti , British poet (d. 1894 )
1839 - George Armstrong Custer , American general (d. 1876 )
1841 - Marcus Daly , American mining tycoon (d. 1900 )
1855 - Clinton Hart Merriam , American ornithologist (d. 1942 )
1859 - John Jellicoe , British admiral (d. 1935 )
1863 - Paul Painlevé , French mathematician (d. 1933 )
1867 - Józef Piłsudski , Polish revolutionary and statesman (d. 1935 )
1867 - Antti Aarne , Finnish folklorist (d. February 2 , 1925 )
1868 - Arnold Sommerfeld , German physicist (d. 1951 )
1869 - Ellis Parker Butler , American author (d. 1937 )
1870 - Vítězslav Novák , Czech composer (d. 1949 )
1871 - Bill Pickett , American rodeo performer (d. 1932 )
1872 - Harry Nelson Pillsbury , American chess player (d. 1906 )
1875 - Sir Arthur Currie , Canadian soldier (d. 1933 )
1879 - Clyde Cessna , American airplane manufacturer (d. 1954 )
1879 - Nunnally Johnson , American screenwriter and producer (d. 1977 )
1886 - Rose Wilder Lane , American writer and reporter, daughter of 'Little House' books writer Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1968 )
1890 - David Bomberg , British painter (d. 1957 )
1890 - Fritz Lang , Austrian-born film director (d. 1976 )
1892 - Ferdinand Schörner , German field marshal (d. 1973 )
1895 - Elbert Frank Cox , American mathematician (d. 1969 )
1896 - Carl Ferdinand Cori , Austrian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984 )
1898 - Grace Moore , American soprano (d. 1947 )
1898 - Josh Malihabadi , Urdu poet of India and Pakistan (d. 1982 )
1901 - Walt Disney , American animated film producer (d. 1966 )
1901 - Milton H. Erickson , American psychiatrist (d. 1980 )
1901 - Werner Heisenberg , German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976 )
1902 - Strom Thurmond , American politician (d. 2003 )
1903 - Johannes Heesters , Dutch singer and actor
1903 - Cecil Frank Powell , British physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1969 )
1905 - Gus Mancuso , baseball player (d. 1984 )
1906 - Otto Preminger , Austrian-born director, producer, and actor (d. 1986 )
1907 - Giuseppe Occhialini , Italian physicist (d. 1993 )
1910 - Abraham Polonsky , American screenwriter (d. 1999 )
1911 - Władysław Szpilman , Polish pianist (d. 2000 )
1914 - Hans Hellmut Kirst , German author (d. 1989 )
1917 - Ken Downing , British racing driver (d. 2004 )
1927 - Bhumibol Adulyadej , King of Thailand
1932 - Sheldon Lee Glashow , American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1932 - Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), American singer and pianist
1934 - Joan Didion , American writer
1934 - Nikos Kourkoulos , Greek actor, artistic director of the National Theatre of Greece (d. 2007 )
1935 - Yury Vlasov , Soviet weightlifter
1935 - Calvin Trillin , American writer
1936 - James Lee Burke , American writer
1938 - J. J. Cale , American songwriter
1940 - Peter Pohl , Swedish writer
1940 - Boris Ignatyev , Russian footballer
1943 - Eva Joly , Norwegian-born French magistrate
1944 - Jeroen Krabbé , Dutch actor
1945 - Serge Chapleau , Quebec caricaturist
1946 - José Carreras , Spanish tenor
1947 - Jim Messina , American musician (Buffalo Springfield - Loggins and Messina )
1947 - Tony Gregory , Irish politician
1947 - Jim Plunkett , American football player
1947 - Bruce Golding , Jamaican politician
1949 - Ray Comfort , New Zealand evangelist
1950 - Camarón de la Isla , Spanish flamenco singer (d. 1992 )
1950 - Osvaldo Golijov , Argentine-born composer
1951 - Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven , Belgian artist
1951 - Morgan Brittany , American actress
1952 - Andy Kim , Canadian singer, songwriter
1953 - Larry Zbyszko , American professional wrestler
1956 - Brian Backer , American actor
1956 - Krystian Zimerman , Polish pianist
1957 - Art Monk , American football player
1958 - Dean Erickson , American actor
1960 - Jack Russell , American singer (Great White )
1962 - José Cura , Argentine tenor
1963 - Doctor Dre , American radio personality
1963 - Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards , British skier
1963 - Carrie Hamilton , American actress
1965 - Johnny Rzeznik , American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Goo Goo Dolls )
1965 - Wayne Smith , Jamaican reggae musician
1966 - Patricia Kaas , French singer
1967 - Gary Allan , American singer
1967 - Konstantin-Assen , titular Bulgarian royal family
1968 - Margaret Cho , American comedian and actress
1968 - Lisa Marie , American model and actress
1969 - Lewis Gordon Pugh , British swimmer, polar explorer and motivational speaker
1969 - Morgan J. Freeman , American film director
1970 - Kevin Haller , Canadian hockey player
1971 - Kali Rocha , American actress
1972 - Angela Shelton , American actress & writer
1972 - Mike Mahoney , baseball player
1972 - Cliff Floyd , American baseball player
1973 - Shalom Harlow , model
1973 - Luboš Motl , Czech physicist
1975 - Ronnie O'Sullivan , British snooker player
1976 - Amy Acker , American actress
1976 - Xavier Garbajosa , French rugby player
1978 - Olli Jokinen , Finnish ice hockey player
1979 - Matteo Ferrari , Italian footballer
1979 - Niklas Hagman , Finnish hockey player
1979 - Nick Stahl , American actor
1979 - Gareth McAuley , Northern Irish footballer
1979 - Evonne Hsu , Taiwanese singer
1980 - Shizuka Ito , Japanese voice actress (seiyū )
1981 - Leila Tong , Hong Kong actress
1982 - Eddy Curry , American basketball player
1982 - Trai Essex , American football player
1984 - Chris Solinsky , American distance runner
1985 - Josh Smith , American basketball player
1985 - Frankie Muniz , American actor
1985 - Nico Verdonck , Belgian racing driver
1988 - Ross Bagley , American actor
1992 - Giorgio Cantarini , Italian actor
Deaths [ ]
749 - Saint John of Damascus , theologian
1082 - Ramon Berenguer II
1355 - John III (b. 1300 )
1560 - King Francis II of France (b. 1544 )
1570 - Johan Friis , Danish statesman (b. 1494 )
1624 - Gaspard Bauhin , Swiss botanist (b. 1560 )
1654 - Jean François Sarrazin , French writer
1663 - Severo Bonini , Italian composer (b. 1582 )
1749 - Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye , New French explorer and trader (b. 1685 )
1758 - Johann Friedrich Fasch , German composer (b. 1688 )
1770 - James Stirling , Scottish mathematician (b. 1692 )
1784 - Phillis Wheatley , African-American poet (b. 1753 )
1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Austrian composer (b. 1756 )
1819 - Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg , German poet (b. 1750 )
1870 - Alexandre Dumas , French writer (b. 1802 )
1887 - Eliza Roxcy Snow , American poet (b. 1804 )
1891 - Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825 )
1895 - Chief Gall , Sioux chief (b. 1840 )
1925 - Władysław Reymont , Polish writer and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867 )
1926 - Claude Monet , French impressionist painter (b. 1840 )
1931 - Vachel Lindsay , American poet (b. 1879 )
1940 - Mordechai Frizis , Jewish Greek military officer (b. 1893 )
1940 - Jan Kubelík , Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak violinist (b. 1880 )
1950 - Shri Aurobindo , Indian guru (b. 1872 )
1951 - Shoeless Joe Jackson , American baseball player (b. 1889 )
1951 - Abanindranath Tagore , Indian writer (b. 1871 )
1953 - Jorge Negrete , Mexican actor and songwriter.
1963 - Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy , Prime Minister Pakistan (b. 1892 )
1963 - Karl Amadeus Hartmann , German composer (b. 1905 )
1963 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji , Indian Hindu mystic
1965 - Joseph Erlanger , American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874 )
1966 - Sylvère Maes , Belgian cyclist (b. 1909 )
1968 - Fred Clark , American actor (b. 1914 )
1977 - Aleksandr Vasilevsky , Soviet military commander (b. 1895 )
1984 - Adam Malik , Third Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1917 )
1986 - Sir Edward Youde , Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924 )
1989 - Sir John Pritchard , British conductor (b. 1921 )
1991 - Richard Speck , American mass murderer (b. 1941 )
1993 - Doug Hopkins , American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms ) (b. 1961 )
1994 - Harry Horner , American art director (b. 1910 )
2001 - Franco Rasetti , Italian physicist (b. 1901 )
2002 - Roone Arledge , American sports broadcasting pioneer (b. 1931 )
2002 - Ne Win , Burmese leader (b. 1911 )
2005 - Frits Philips , Dutch industrialist and businessman from multinational Philips Electronics (b. 1905 )
2005 - Kevin "Big Kev" McQuay , Australian businessman (b. 1949 )
2006 - David Bronstein , Ukrainian-born chess grandmaster (b. 1924 )
Holidays and observances [ ]
External links [ ]
123 Familypedia people were born on December 5
110 Familypedia people died on December 5
92 Familypedia people were first married on December 5